An ass kicking

I got it handed to me at the Champion’s Club in Corona this last weekend.  It wasn’t so much that it totally destroyed me it was what it did to my head.  By the 10^th hole I felt totally helpless.  The golf courses we play around here… are… easy.  Okay, so not easy.  But you can’t really lose a ball too badly.  Something goes “into the woods” means rolled behind a palm tree or into a cluster of low trees.  NBD – whack it out with a 7 iron.  This place… ravines, rattle snakes in the rough and totally lost balls were totally normal.  Out of bounds was really…. Out of bounds.   However, instead of owning my 25 handicap and thinking, oh well, bad shot, onto the next.  I totally folded.  Hard.  Then something happened which I’m starting to recognize – enough times to recognize a trend.  The last hole is my best hole.  I walk up to the tee box and crush it.  7 iron to lay up?  Easy.  Chip to the green?  In my sleep.  2 putt?  Hell yeah.  Sometimes I just hit the green with my 7 iron, sometimes I’m up and down, sometimes I just straight hole it on that chip shot.  But the last hole?  Why the last hole?  Why?  Because I can see the club house.   Beer is in sight.  I’m almost off this damn course which totally ate me alive.  Forget the snakes!  Let’s talk about the long par 5 or the par 3 I lost three balls on!  Actually, don’t remind me.  And that’s what happens – it’s all out of my head.  The target – being done with this stupid round.   So what if instead I just thought about my target the whole round – like you are supposed to do.  I’d probably play better golf.  Just a thought – that doesn’t include any swing thoughts in it is probably what I need.  Sooooo I took it to the range to try it out.

50 yard sign.   Align.  Shoot.  Boom.  50 yard sign.  Align.  Shoot.  Boom.  Over and over and over.  Hmmm what’s that?  Why does Kev smoke so much vape?  Why is this woman yelling in Korean?  What time does this place close?  Shoot.  SHOOT! Focus.  

An interesting thing happened – I started making shots when I removed swing thoughts from my head and all the other thoughts… and started just focusing on what the hell I was aiming at.   I’ve read half of the book, Golf is Not a Game of Perfect now and I think that a lot of it just makes a lot of sense.  I’m always telling Kev to stop beating himself up verbally after every shot.   A strange thing starts to happen when he does it though – subconsciously I try to stay above it and then I start to shoot better.  I’ve also realized this on the putting green – I get up there at last and I think – yes! I’m putting!  It’s like a totally different game when I get to the putting green.  Suddenly it doesn’t matter if I shank crap or my ball didn’t hit the GIR now we are doing something else – we’re doing something I’M GOOD AT!  I really like putting and even though I don’t really like to practice putting I convince myself I do.  Half of it is my attitude.  I pull my putter and I think – now it’s on.  I love a five foot putt – easy I think to myself – I’m really good at these – three feet in?  Call it done.  10 feet?  20 feet?  Been making a lot of those lately.  Miss?  Oh, sometimes that happens.  I have without a doubt fallen into putting slumps and every time it’s the, “I cannot do this” thoughts that creep in my head – or I over read everything.  I smash balls, I wimp out.  Confidence ruined.  I feel like this is something I will really try to avoid very much in the future.  I love my YAY PUTTING attitude so I’m going to try to cling to it for as long as I can and when things get rough I will just have to think – this is the great equalizer out here.  You’ve got it.